Some new faces in the top 25 following the action of week 7, including two American conference teams (Memphis, Temple) and one from the ACC (Pittsburgh). Ohio State remain on top of things, joined by Baylor, Utah, TCU and for the first time this season, LSU. Stanford and Iowa climb an impressive five spots while Ole Miss, following their loss to Memphis, hang on after dropping by 11.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (28 first place votes), 7-0: Finally a convincing win for the still number one team, beating Penn State 38-10 and winning back one of those first place votes.
2. Baylor Bears (12), 6-0: Looked good in a 62-38 win over West Virginia, especially Seth Russell.
3. Utah Utes (16), 6-0: The Utes move up one spot thanks to a 34-18 win over Arizona State, that included a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter.
4. TCU Horned Frogs (3), 7-0: A 45-21 win over Iowa State resulted in them losing one spot for some reason.
5. LSU Tigers (1), 6-0: As expected, their 35-28 win over Florida on a fake field goal play resulted in a one spot move upwards.
6. Clemson Tigers (1), 6-0: Paid the price of beating Boston College only 34-17 by losing one spot to the other Tigers.
7. Michigan State Spartans, 7-0: Beating Michigan 27-23 on a last moment blocked punt? Not moving them anywhere.
8. Alabama Crimson Tide, 6-1: A two spot rise for Alabama following their 41-23 win over Texas A&M.
9. Florida State Seminoles, 6-0: Another team moving up two spots are the Seminoles following their 41-21 win over Louisville.
10. Stanford Cardinal, 5-1: Completing the top 10 are Stanford on a five spot climb following their 56-35 win over UCLA.
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 6-1: Creeping back up towards the top 10 after a 41-31 win over USC, moving them three spots forward.
12. Iowa Hawkeyes, 7-0: Climbing five spots following a 40-10 win over Northwestern.
13. Florida Gators, 6-1: No longer undefeated, their 35-28 loss at LSU means a five spot fall.
14. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 6-0: Didn’t play, but still managed to move up a couple of spots.
15 (tied). Texas A&M Aggies, 5-1: Fell six spots following their 41-23 home loss to Alabama.
15 (tied). Michigan Wolverines, 5-2: Only three spots of a drop for Michigan after their heartbreaking, time expired 27-23 loss at home to Michigan State.
17. Oklahoma Sooners, 5-1: Beating Kansas State 55-0 on the road is impressive, but only enough for a two spot rise.
18. Memphis Tigers, 6-0: In the rankings for the first time this season following a 37-24 win over Ole Miss. They haven’t been ranked since the final poll of last season.
19. Toledo Rockets, 6-0: A 63-20 win over Eastern Michigan helped them climb three spots, in what looks like a very likely undefeated season for them.
20. California Golden Bears, 5-1: Didn’t play, and still moved up three spots.
21. Houston Cougars, 6-0: Beat Tulane 42-7 on the road to move up three spots.
22. Temple Owls, 6-0: The third of the undefeated American conference teams, making it into the rankings after the beatdown of UCF. It’s their first poll position since 1979.
23. Duke Blue Devils, 5-1: Didn’t play, moved up a couple of places.
24. Ole Miss Rebels, 5-2: Losing by 13 points in Memphis didn’t knock ’em out of the rankings, but made them free fall 11 spots.
25. Pittsburgh Panthers, 5-1: A 31-28 win over the sinking Georgia Tech and going 3-0 in the conference puts the Panthers in the top 25 for the first time this season. They’re ranked for the first time since 2010.
Dropped from rankings: UCLA, Northwestern, Boise State